Gimme Some Truth - No More “AI Deception”

I'm sick and tired of hearing things from uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites. All I want is the truth; just give me some truth.

I've had enough of reading things by neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians. All I want is the truth; just give me some truth.

NO short-haired, yellow-bellied son-of-tricky-dicky is gonna mother-hubbard soft-soap me, with a pocketful of hope, money for dope, money for rope.

No, I am NOT off on one of my rants! These are some of my favourite lyrics to one of John Lennon’s songs that I used to sing when I went busking in the streets of Worcestershire in the UK. The name of the song is the same as the title TO THIS POST: “Give Me Some Truth.”

I used to love John Lennon because he was so open and truthful. He felt a deep, almost painful need to strip away the false, curated “Beatle image” in favor of authenticity, as well as all his political views that he had, which I don’t want to go into right now. He never did anyone any harm; all he ever wanted was peace. That’s all anyone wants! So why did he get shot?

For some reason, people don’t like hearing the truth because it HURTS SO MUCH. People get riled up whenever the truth is revealed because it DOES ‘HURT’ A LOT! They would rather hear a pack of lies than the truth and be reassured that everything is OK.

Seeking REASSURANCE all the time, whether it is a pack of lies or the truth, is UNHEALTHY, especially for (OCD) sufferers. It should be avoided at all costs because it acts as a COMPULSION that provides only TEMPORARY relief while strengthening the cycle of ANXIETY and DOUBT in the long term.

It reinforces the belief that fears are valid and dangerous, requiring constant outside validation, which ultimately makes obsessions more frequent, harder to resist, and damages self-trust.

You should always realize that ‘SHIT HAPPENS’ sometimes in your life, and there is nothing anyone can do about it, ‘ONLY YOURSELF’ in the way you react to it. Always remember, this is the one and only control we have in ‘most’ everything that presents itself to us in our daily go-about routine.

Nasty things that people say to you—this type of shit happens to you all the time! Intrusive thoughts that enter your head. Traffic queues. Traffic red lights. Being put on hold on the telephone. Being banned from social media platforms (like FB & Ss). Losing your job. Getting into debt. Trouble with kids at school. Teenage rebellion problems. You can go on and on. These are problems we all seem to have sometime in our lives, and when they ‘DO HAPPEN’ we need to be ready with the way we react to them and deal with them. If we can practice everyday acceptance and equanimity by accepting the less important ‘little shit’ things like these, we can be ready when more DRAMATIC ‘BIG SHIT’ things come along.

Why Does The Truth Always Hurt

The truth hurts because it forces a confrontation between reality and our deeply held beliefs, illusions, or desires, causing emotional discomfort. It requires acknowledging painful shortcomings, betrayals, or the collapse of idealized, false narratives. This pain stems from shattered expectations of what we THINK we are and the need to abandon comfortable, yet inaccurate, perceptions.

When someone tells you the truth about yourself or something that you are doing wrong, your mindset alters. By retaliating with aggression, you become defensive, thinking that you are being attacked in some way and your safety is being threatened.

I experience this a LOT with my band, as a drummer. Whenever the song starts to speed up, all eyes turn to me because I am supposed to be the timekeeper and keep a regular beat that the band has to adhere to. But sometimes it’s the guitarist who is speeding up, and I have to follow him and speed up with him; otherwise, I would sound like I was starting to drag behind.

I CAN get DEFENSIVE when I am blamed for something that’s NOT my fault. Even if it WAS my fault, I would still get defensive because I would think that I was better than that, and I never speed up with my playing. But this is where the TRUTH HURTS. I would rather hear a pack of lies and hear someone say that I was playing well when in fact I was really playing badly.

I used to have a poster up in my home studio where I play my drums and guitars, saying: Practice, practice, practice makes PERFECT. But I ripped it down because it is a false statement. (Just like the false statement that I never speed up, ‘cause I do. I’m only human.)

Practice, Practice, Practice does NOT make PERFECT if you are NOT playing it right! So I made another poster that says:

Practice, Practice, Practice makes PERMANENT; it is only PERFECT when you are playing it RIGHT.

I got the inspiration for this blog from one of my followers and subscribers on my Substack page yesterday. She pointed out my lack of commas in one of my blogs that I had written, which I thanked her for, because that's the way you learn—by someone speaking the truth and telling you what you are doing wrong, and that you are not as good as you thought you were. The truth is, I will be 73 years old on my next birthday in June and have never written as much as one single essay since I left school 58 years ago. I have been a manual worker my entire life.

I know that this is no excuse! I should have improved my writing skills before I started blogging. The truth ‘CAN’ HURT, but I am a firm believer that if someone tells me I am doing something wrong and I can learn from it, this can ONLY be a POSITIVE and CONSTRUCTIVE lesson. I can learn from it and then move forward to a better future in my writing skills.

The trouble with this platform (and with every other social media site out there) is that there is no DISLIKE BUTTON, only like. Also: (I am going to be in trouble for saying this, but I don’t care) Substack’s like button is NOT a like button at all. Substack’s like buttons are presented as a heart icon, ❤️, which to me represents L❤️VE IT. What about if you H👹TED IT? I know what you are all thinking: “If you hated it, just do NOTHING and walk away, and go on to the next post!” But if we did, how on earth can we LEARN if no one ever corrects us?

I know all social media platforms generally avoid implementing public “dislike” buttons to maximize user engagement, protect mental health, and boost advertising revenue. Negative feedback discourages users from posting content and creates a hostile environment, which platforms aim to avoid. A dislike feature could also facilitate cyberbullying and harassment. (I KNOW ALL THIS) I also know that Substack uses a heart icon for its “Like” button to signify appreciation and foster a more positive, relational, and emotional connection between writers and readers, rather than just a functional metric of popularity. But life to me is NOT like that!

There is ALWAYS an OPPOSITE in everything. HOT/COLD, WET/DRY, STRONG/WEAK, BIG/SMALL, TALL/SHORT, NASTY/NICE, FRONT/BACK, BRIGHT/DULL, SPACE/CONFINED, FEAR/CALM, LIKE/DISLIKE, LOVE/HATE

If you enjoyed this piece, please check out more of John’s work right here.